Coffee for Two
by g0bliin
Summary: Sarah challenges her sweet tooth regular Jareth, to finish a whole cup of coffee. Modern AU one-shot.


Jareth stood with his hands in his trouser pockets, idly waiting in line to order. To his surprise, the Starbucks wasn't overly crowded. Only a few stragglers lingered in the coffee shop, sipping away at their brews as they idly browsed their phones. The sky was an unfortunate grey, the clouds dreary as they hung over the land with the threat of a sudden downpour.

He didn't mind terrible weather though.

Rather, he preferred when it stormed. Listening to the music of rain pattering against the window, with thunder rumbling in the background as added ambiance.

"May I take whoever is next?" Perking up at her voice, Jareth sauntered his way to the counter, a snaggle-toothed grin plastered on his face.

"Long time no see, Sarah."

The cashier rolled her eyes, cocking her head at him. "You just saw me yesterday, Jareth."

"And I've been pining for you ever since!" He placed a hand over his heart, letting out a dramatic sigh.

"Such a shame you only love me for my coffee," she scoffed at him, her lips twitching as she held back a smirk. "I assume you want the usual?"

"Yes, a-"

"A venti cinnamon roll frappuccino with added chocolate chips, one extra pump of sugar syrup, easy on the whipped cream, but not on the chocolate sauce," Sarah recited from memory, inputting the drink into the register. "Will you want a chocolate chip cookie with that? Or a blueberry scone?"

"The scone would be fine."

"I don't understand how your teeth haven't rotted away by now. Total is six dollars and twenty-three cents."

Jareth pulled out his wallet, digging around for his credit card before he handed it to her. She swiped it through deftly, handing it off to him before leaving to make his overloaded, sugary drink while he went to find a table to sit at.

He'd admit that his sweet tooth kept him balled-and-chained to Starbucks, but the snarky chatter with Sarah only made the daily expense more worth it. Heck, there was a Starbucks at the college where he taught; he could've just walked there every day, yet he still made the 20-minute drive on his lunch break for the chance to chat with her.

There was something about that sarcastic, charming, twenty-something barista that made Jareth want to find every excuse to be around her.

"Professor!" His nickname was called out, and his drink stood in all its glory, waiting to be devoured. Immediately upon sitting back down, Sarah joined him with a small, steaming cup of pure black coffee beside her.

"How nice of you to join me," he said, sipping his drink. "I'm honored."

"Do you like black coffee?" She suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, I…" His voice faltered, just barely concealing the will to gag.

If there was one thing he hated in this world, it was black coffee. It was too bitter and weightless. It was just watery bean juice with no substance. No _life_.

"I'll take that as a no," she pushed the cup of black coffee towards him, resting her cheek on her hand. "If you drink this entire cup, I'll personally pay for your next drink."

"That's awfully generous of you. What if I _don't_?"

"_You _have to take me out for sushi. There's this new sushi bar that opened, and I don't get paid until next week."

Jareth shot up his eyebrows. "That's not fair."

"You spend the same amount for coffee in a week." Sarah pointed out.

"The difference is that the money is stretched out, rather than blown in a single hour."

She smirked at him. "Are you just making excuses to not to drink coffee?"

He peered down at the cup, noticing his own disgust reflected in the black coffee. Would it really be worth it, simpering about how his pride was ruined by some barista? Couldn't he just ask her out like a normal man would?

Then again, he always _liked_ a challenge.

Fine. He'd play along with Sarah's little game. It was just black coffee after all, not poison. Hell, a free drink wasn't too bad of an offer either.

Jareth dragged the cup nearer to him, feeling the steam rising up against his palm. "It's still too hot to drink yet," he commented.

"That's fine. I know you wouldn't try to do anything sneaky, right, Jareth?" Her eyes glanced at the coffee, then back at his face.

"What am I going to do? Pour it out the window when you're not looking?" Some childish part of him thought that didn't sound like a terrible idea. He sighed, tapping his fingernail on the table out of impatience. Why was he getting so worked up over at drinking a simple cup of coffee?

Jareth seized the coffee in his hands, lifting it up to take a cautious sip. As soon as the taste hit his taste buds, he was not able to hold back a gag, his whole body utterly repulsed by the bitter drink. He took a sip of his sugary drink in an attempt to wash away the foul taste.

"Whew, I didn't know you that adverse to black coffee," Sarah covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a laugh. "You can always call it quits and take me out."

"_No." _His voice was low, a new determination coursing his body. He was damned if he didn't finish this cup. If he could swallow one sip, then he surely handle a whole cup. It would just be a matter of surviving this.

He raised the cup again, bracing himself for the taste with eyes tightly shut. Taking another, larger sip, he swallowed it all. He repeated this process of taking a sip, making a disgusted noise, and wash it all down with his drink.

There was about two sips left in the cup when the coffee started to cool, only adding to the horrid taste. "Goddamnit."

"Turn back now!" Her voice wavered, wriggling her fingers as though she were telling a horror story. "Turn back now before it's toooo laaaate..."

"Oh hush, I'm finishing this so I can get my free drink." He raised the cup once more, about to finish the whole thing in one revolting gulp, when someone roughly bumped into his chair. The cup slipped from Jareth's fingers and onto his lap, spilling the remaining liquid all over his trousers.

He blinked in disbelief, staring at the puddle of liquid that was definitely going to stain the fabric.

"Lemme get some napkins." Sarah rushed out of her chair, scrambling to the little counter where spare napkins and other condiments were held. Meanwhile Jareth was dabbing away with a crumpled up one.

"So much for a free drink, huh?" She shrugged, handing him a handful of napkins.

"So much for free sushi." Jareth grabbed the bunch, pressing them into the stain. "It appears that we are at a draw."

"You can try again…"

"_Maybe later." _He huffed, his pride slightly wounded. He should have just taken her out for sushi in the first place, then he would not have had to deal with ruined pants.

"I gotta get back to work. See ya later, Jareth," Sarah said, taking the trash and empty coffee cup with her.

He was about to reply with his own goodbye, but his eye caught the time on his watch, nearly dashing out of the Starbucks. There were only five minutes left of his lunch break.

* * *

Sarah took off the stupid hat that was part of her uniform and stashed it in her purse. "Where the heck are my car keys?" she mumbled to herself, regretting that she didn't look for them first before shoving her hat in. It only added more stuff to her already full purse.

Too consumed by her thoughts, she didn't notice a car pull up right next to hers, and a man getting out. "Sarah!"

She jumped, a little startled until she noticed it was Jareth, wearing a different pair of trousers. "Oh, Jareth. Is everything alright?" He didn't seem like the type of guy to stand around waiting for girls after their shift. Was the pepper spray still in her purse?

"Yes. I, erm, brought you a gift." He said as he approached her. In his hands he held a plastic container of California Rolls from the local Kroger. A soft smile twitched her lips upon receiving the gift.

How sweet of him!

Her heart was going to melt in her lap. None of her other boyfriends did this sort of thing for her. Her fingers carefully opened the container, picking up a piece of sushi to gift to Jareth. He took it from her and bit half of it.

As she was picking up a piece for herself, the corner of her eye caught another disgusted look on Jareth's face. She hid a laugh, eating the whole piece.

He must naturally be a picky eater if he didn't like black coffee, or something as simple as a California roll. It was a strange trait she didn't expect from a dignified professor all the way from London to possess.

She took another piece of sushi, this time taking a smaller bite. "Thank you so much for this. This is a way better dinner than what I was going to make."

"I'm glad!" He pulled on his collar, chewing on his bottom lip as if he wanted to say more.

"Was there-?"

"I wanted to-"

Both of them were taken aback by speaking at the same time. Sarah held back a giggle, motioning her hand. "You look like you have something to say."

"Yeah, I uhm," Jareth rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her gaze for a second. "I wanted to ask if you were available this weekend. For a date."

Sarah stopped mid-bite, caught off guard by his question. Never would she have thought that he would finally have the balls to ask her out. A smirk twitched her lips. "Can we still do sushi? - if you don't mind, of course."

He let out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes. "Fine."

* * *

**A/N: ****This one shot has been mostly finished for nearly a month, but I was too lazy to complete the end until now. I haven't written anything pertaining to Labyrinth in a bit, so I thought a one-shot would be fun. Hope you all enjoyed!**


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